Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful and intimate epic
Review: I have not seen this DVD (not released yet) but this is one of my all time favorite films. Philip Kaufman (who also directed "The Right Stuff", "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (remake), and "Henry and June") combines beautiful and erotic visuals with a compelling story of people caught up in the 1968 uprising in Czechoslavakia, and its aftermath.Wonderful performances by Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Stands up well to repeated viewings. I have seen this in the theatre, on LaserDisc, and on the excellent Criterion DVD. Don't watch it full screen (4x3)!!
Rating: 
Summary: Gorgeous movie
Review: Hey, the film's great, the story's great, the cinematography is lush (and the interspersing of actual archival footage of the Soviet invasion is done seamlessly and masterfully), and the acting is top-knotch. Lena Olin is not only beautiful, but in her role as Sabina she is Pure Sex. I also find it hard to imagine any other actor than Daniel Day-Lewis who could pull off Tomas. And Juliette Binoche manages to balance between frailty and strength all through the movie. The director's commentary is very good and very enlightening, and all in all this is a wonderful, quality DVD to own.
Rating:
Summary: a film to see
Review: This is a story about all kinds of love and the ways those loves shape our lives.Love of other human beings,country,freedom,natural beauty,animals---they're all a part of this emotional experience.Yet we share the feelings naturally,the story doesn't seem contrived or preachy.The movie may be a little long,but even the scenery and the use of black and white footage are done well.The use of nonverbal communication by the lead actors is as good as any I have ever seen.Olin and Binoche are incredible!There's plenty to think about in this film---see it!
Rating:
Summary: This movie is not about love and desire !
Review: I was deeply disappointed when i went through several viewer reviews. This movie is not about love and desire and etc as was commonly stated in most of the reviews. It is about BEING, EXISTANCE,CHOICES AND COINCIDENCES. This movie is based entirely upon the statement 'Einmal ist Keinmal'. The 'unbearable lightness of being' refers to the one and only one single opportunity of a human being to make choices and bear the consequences, since it is not possible to turn back the clock and make a different choice and see the consequences. It is also discussed in the movie, that it is coincidences that guide our lives rather than our evaluations of the situations and our actions(decisions) taken upon our evaluations. This movie is the best movie i have seen in my whole life, therefore i could not keep silent against the fact that this marvellous piece of work has been misinterpreted by many and hence has been enjoyed to an extent far less than possible. If you havent seen it yet....
Rating:
Summary: Daniel Day Lewis should keep his shoes on
Review: This movie poses the troubling question, "Who is more attractive: Juliette Binoche, or Lena Olin?". For mine, Juliette is the answer, if only by a whisker (Karenin, a very charming dog, also featured in my deliberations). Of course, for those of you who are interested, old hatchet-head, Daniel Day-Lewis, is also given more than adequate screen time, and various parts of his mantis-like body are revealed, including his feet, which prove to be quite repulsive.
*
Kundera's book plays with philosophical concepts for primarily aesthetic purposes, and the film pragmatically dispenses with this philosophical bunting in favour of a focus upon love and desire and, with surprising resonance, upon the intrusion of public life, in the form of politics, into the private. To extract a conventional and satisfying plot from Kundera's self-conscious and theory-infected text is a credit to the screenwriters - what results is a very watchable, entirely cinematic movie, more in the Hollywood mould than the European arthouse tradition.
*
A large part of the film's charm lies at the feet of Juliette Binoche (as mentioned previously, Daniel Day Lewis's feet are wholly charmless). Her incredible capacity to portray joy and exuberance lights up the screen; her darker emotions are equally believable - her performance is superb, and prefigures perhaps her most astonishing role in Kieslowski's 'Blue' (a far superior film to 'Unbearable...', by the way - it's available on DVD from Amazon.co.uk). Lena Olin is suitably erotic (nice hat), and Daniel, I concede, methodically inhabits his character of Tomas, using one of his inflexible traits as an actor to effect, namely his staunch refusal to reveal himself psychically, a kind of introversion that lends Tomas much needed mystery - after all, here is a hedonist, a lothario, who is also motivated to dedicate his life to neurosurgery and, ultimately if imperfectly, to his wife, an intensely private man who refuses to yield to political pressures - you need a bit of mystery in order to reconcile the contradictions. Incidentally, all the actors, be they English, French, Swedish, or German, struggle to limp through a Czech accent - forgivable, but not ideal.
*
The film is long, almost three hours, and falls roughly into three parts, the last possibly being the strongest. If you wanted to give titles to these three 'chapters', you could try: 'Pornography, Exile, Love'. That would be glib, true, but if the film has a failing I think it lies somewhere in the vicinity of glibness - there is something a little too easy about its surface, and the dialogue never dares to flash light on any implied depths (in contrast, say, to Bergman, who always attempted just this, taking risks in the process - you might find yourself laughing at some of his most portentious lines, but you won't here, because Kaufman lacks the courage to disturb you).
*
So, worth a look, for the pretty pictures is nothing else; Criterion provide a good transfer, which you could well expect, although the actual print shows some signs of wear and tear, oddly so considering its tender age. Criterion have also lost the rights to this picture, so it is out of print as of late 2001 - so order now before Amazon runs out (other retailers already have).
Rating:
Summary: One of the Very Best Ever!
Review: If you haven't seen this movie, do yourself a big favor: see it as soon as possible (and hopefully, on DVD). The writing, directing, acting and cinematography are just wonderful. And the music blends in very well and really helps create the atmosphere in the movie. I won't go into the details of the plot because other reviewers have done so here. At the core of this movie is a love story involving a man and the two women in his life (one is his lifemate and the other his soulmate). This is one of the very best movies. It's on my Top-5 list (which includes "The English Patient", "Casablanca", "Doctor Zhivago" and "Cinema Paradiso"). Just like the other four movies I've mentioned here, once you've seen this movie, you'll find yourself wanting to see it again from time to time. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: i knew nothing of what was going to be seen then a was amazed to see this story of great bliss
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This movie is simply wonderful. The DVD is well transfered and comes in a plastic case.
Rating:
Summary: the Prague Spring
Review: If you've read the book you won't be disappointed with this film which doesn't try to convey all Kundera's philosophy but it does retain the spirit of the book. Really the book had what some considered to be too much philosophy in it which got in the way of the story which was not Kunderas main concern anyway as his characters were just actors he used to elucidate his ideas. For Kaufman the real heart of the book was not in its ideas but in the way Tomas and Tereza relate and how that relationship evolves within a very specific historical circumstance, the Russian occupation of Prague in 68. That moment in time is really brought to life both in the cafes as we hear a Czech. version of"Hey Jude" being played and in the streets when the actual invasion takes place at which point hand held black and white cameras are used to give an on the spot feel to it.
When we first meet Tomas(Daniel Day Lewis) he is involved with Sabina(Lena Olin)and what they share is an almost religious belief in the erotic and an equalllly strong belief in retaining their individuality and frredom. On a visit to a spa in the country to perform an operation however Tomas comes across the innocent waitress Tereza(Juliette Binoche) and his life after that is never quite the same. Sabina resents the intrusion at first but soon she and Tereza are friends, in fact the moment they become friends on a rainy afternoon taking pictures of each other is one of the best scenes in the movie. A lot is made of the historical happenings and how they affect each characters personal life. I found it a little hard to believe that they would willingly return to Prague under communist rule after they had made their escape to Zurich but you may feel differently. The use of the terms "lightness" and "weight" that so often appeared in the book always seemed to my ears rather vague, the movie gratefully only employs those terms on rare occasion. The last scenes in the countryside are some of the most beautiful cinematography I have seen, quite memorable images evoking the really valuable things in life.
Certainly one of the best adaptations of a novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly overrated
Review: Highly overrated by the "it proves I'm deeply emotional, thoughtful, and perceptive" set. It's a lousy film masquerading as a thoughful art-house flik. It is extremely meandering and never seems to end. People like this flik because it's all about atmosphere and erotic cool and Prague, etc. As a movie it's really lousy, there's no real point to it except to stay within this hip, tense, minimalistic-european world for as long as possible. I kept thinking- "oh, that's the end" and it would keep going. I'd think "oh, ok, this is the end", and it would keep going. When the end finally came I thanked God it was over because it was really painful to sit through. This movie is all about style *as* substance, it's very shallow and I imagine enjoyable only if you're willing to accept this type of movie as shallow entertainment and nothing more. It's not a shoot-em-up action movie, but it's about as deep as one and you probably need to be in that mind-set to like it. Personally I like my dramas a little bit deeper. I guess this is a good movie to point to as proof you dig deep movies or something, as this is accepted as a deep movie, but I'm telling you, it's about as deep as spilt milk. Now "Blue", w/ Juliette Binoche- that's the real thing. This movie is just mindless clap-trap in comparison. I haven't read the book, which I'm sure is good, I like Kundera (sp?)- but you shouldn't have to read a book to appreciate a film- it should stand on it's own.
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